Ludo is a game of dice popular in ancient India and has a long history; from Chausar, pachisi on ludo mat to Ludo game online, the journey has been long and eventful. But, do you know how significant the role ludo, the game of dice, played in the Mahabharata? This Game of Dice is mentioned as “Chausar” or Pasha in Mahabharata. Though the game had multiple versions and forms of dice used in the game, the main rule was very similar to the modern ludo. But how similar are they, and how did Shakuni’s name get tied with this legendary game? This article is all about the Chausar game, its representation in Mahabharata, and Shakuni’s possible strategy for the game.
How is Chausar represented in Mahabharata?
Several times in the epic, Shakuni, who is also called the grandmaster of pasa, was found playing Chausar with others, which shows the popularity of the game among contemporary royals. In the Mahabharata, Chausar also indirectly becomes a catalyst to the war of Kurukshetra.
Kauravas, represented by Duryodhana, played against Pandavas led by Yudhisthira. Shakuni, the maternal uncle of Duryodhana, was assisting Kauravas. Experts say that he used to own magical dice that obeyed his commands. His shrewd strategies and that unique set of dice almost left Pandavas no chance to play the game. Ultimately, Kauravas ended up winning everything Pandavas put on stake, including the jewelry, servants, the five brothers, and their wife, Draupadi, leaving them with an embarrassing defeat. This event was immensely crucial in Mahabharata; the humiliation of Draupadi in the court by Kauravas was one of the subsequent events that made way for the Kurukshetra war.
Chausar Game Rules:
If you want to know the strategies used by Shakuni and Kauravas, you need to know about the game rules. There are some crucial rules that you must learn if you want to understand the game of Chausar –
Dice:
In Chausar, six cowrie shells replace a dice, and the scoring depends on the position of their fall. The possible scores that you can score in Chausar are 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, and 12.
- The open mouth of cowrie shells generates one point.
- You get zero points for the back of the shells.
- Want to get an entire 12-point score? Then, get all the cowries to fall with their backs showing.
- You get an extra chance of rolling the cowrie shells if you throw a 6 or 12 (doublet).
- To move, you need to get even numbers.
However, there was also the use of the stick dice. These dice would have 1, 3, 4, and 6 on wider sides while 1, 2, 5, and 6 are on the other side.
Pawns: In Chausar, you use four colors of pawns, and they are teamed up color-wise. There are some rules that you need to keep in mind –
- The pawns are allowed to move anti-clockwise along the edge lanes.
- You cannot take your pawn to the mid-lane or the home stretch belonging to another player.
- If you get to the block where your opponent has a pawn, their pawn goes back to the home. It sounds familiar, correct? It is more like the rule of cutting the pawn in ludo.
- Please remember that you cannot take out a “juda” pair using a single pawn.
Winning
The rule of winning a Chausar game is similar to that of the ludo:
- The player who can take all their pawns to the home square is declared the winner.
- The first team to have all their pawns home becomes the winner.
Special Rules:
If you are playing with your team, there are some special rules –
- You cannot take out the pawn of your team member on their behalf.
- You may play for your teammate after skipping four turns if you have already placed four pawns at the home square.
- In some versions of Chausar, a player predicts the number while throwing the dice. If that turns out to be correct, they get an extra chance.
How to Play Chausar:
The Chausar game begins with two pawns placed on the 4th block of the home stretch and the other two positioned on the 5th block from the top on the right-hand side of your arm. The pawns on the mat move anti-clockwise, and they cannot go to the mid-lane or home stretch of the other players. Now, you need to move your pawns to reach the home square at the center. You win the game if all four of your pawns reach the “home” before the other players.
Sounds more like ludo, no? But there are some differences between the two games. Take a look –
How Different is Chausar from Ludo?
Though Chausar is the old version of the modern ludo, though the core of the game is very similar, they use different boards, and there are some other differences:
- Chausar uses a mat with four arms with a central square called the home, whereas in ludo, generally, a rectangular board is used with the home at the center.
- There were yellow, green, red, and black pawns, while the modern ludo uses blue pawns instead of black.
- In Chausar, yellow-green and red-black form two different teams. In the ludo game, there are no such mandatory rules for pairing.
- There are several safe patches in the ludo game, while in Chausar, there aren’t any other safe places other than your home stretch.
- In Chausar, you use more than one dice or cowrie shells, but you need a single die to play the ludo game.
Why did Shakuni Win the Game?
While discussing Shakuni’s strategy of Chausar, one must talk about the dice he used. However, most people are unaware of what sort of dice he used in the Chausar or “Pasha” games against the Pandavas. In some versions of Mahabharata, Shakuni’s dice were made with the bones of his deceased family members, and they used to obey his commands.
However, this theory of magic dice was later dismissed with the idea that Shakuni’s dice were unevenly weighted, making it easy for some particular numbers to appear more than others. In Mahabharata Chausar games, the rule of extra chance with free prediction was applicable, and hence Shakuni’s weighted dice helped him predict correctly.
There is statistical data to show how Shakuni, the master manipulator, would use probability in his favor (considering the idea that Shakuni was using stick dice):
One dice had numbers 1, 3, 4, and 6, and the other had 1, 2, 5, and 6. Therefore, if Shakuni threw the dice with the prediction of getting the number 8, there would be a 12.5% chance of getting an eight.
However, there can be odds and series of independent events happening, which might make minute changes in the possibility. Still, in the end, after getting an 8, if he predicts a 12, it will have some probability of winning.
Though it is not clear exactly how Shakuni was winning the Chausar games, one can say multiple factors might have made it easy for him to manipulate the result in favor of Kauravas.
Conclusion
Chausar and the ludo game have the same crux, but time and technology set them apart. The board game has an appeal that captivates players of different age groups. Whether you are trying out Chausar on a mat or playing Ludo games online from the comfort of your own house, the level of enjoyment stays the same. The games not only promote strategic thinking but can also help create a connection between people. Want to experience the thrill of ludo games? Join a reliable Ludo game app today!
